The present invention relates to the field of portable computers systems. Specifically, the present invention discloses a systems for synchronizing a portable computer system with a desktop computer system.
Personal computer systems have become common tools in modem society. To organize their lives, many personal computer users use Personal Information Management (PIM) applications such as an address book, a daily organizer, and a To-Do list application on their personal computers. Although such Personal Information Management applications have proven useful, their utility is limited by the fact that the person must be sitting their personal computer system to access the information.
To remedy this limitation, many palmtop computer organizers have been introduced. A palmtop computer organizer is a computer that is small enough to be held in the hand of a user and runs Personal Information Management (PIM) applications such as an address book, a daily organizer, and electronic notepads. Examples of palmtop computer organizers include the Sharp(copyright) Zaurus, the Apple(copyright) Newton(copyright), and the Tandy(copyright) Zoomer(trademark).
However, the palmtop organizers also suffer from a number of limitations. Entering information into a palmtop organizer is usually performed by typing on a keyboard that is too small for normal typing, or by writing onto a digitizer with a stylus and relying on handwriting recognition software. Backing up the information on a palmtop organizer is often a difficult and time consuming task requiring special cables and software. Printing the information stored within a palmtop organizer system is difficult since special printer cables must connect the palmtop organizer to a printer.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an easy to use palmtop computer system that is well integrated with a personal computer system. By tightly integrating the palmtop computer system with a personal computer system, an already existing computer infrastructure can easily be used by the palmtop computer system. To integrate to the computer system, the present invention teaches synchronization of information on the palmtop computer system and the personal computer system.
To integrate the palmtop computer system with a personal computer system in a user friendly manner, the palmtop computer system must be able to handle many different synchronization environments. The palmtop computer system should handle the different synchronization environments in a manner that requires very little user interaction. Thus, the palmtop computer system and the personal computer system must automatically recognized the synchronization environment and perform the synchronization.
Different synchronization environments include: synchronizing multiple palmtop computer systems with a single personal computer system; synchronizing a single palmtop computer system with multiple personal computer systems; synchronizing a palmtop computer system with a remote personal computer system across a network using a local personal computer system; and remotely synchronizing with a personal computer system across a telephone line. The software architecture of the present invention recognizes each of these different synchronization environments and performs the synchronization of information appropriately.